"As the Republican nominee for governor of Florida, it is clear to me that I will likely miss the vast majority of our remaining session days for this Congress," he wrote. "Under these circumstances, it would be inappropriate for me to accept a salary."

DeSantis, of Ponte Vedra Beach, is locked in a tight race for Florida governor with Democrat Andrew Gillum.

DeSantis won the Republican primary by 20 percentage points over a onetime prohibitive favorite, Adam Putnam. But in the last two weeks DeSantis has stumbled, facing questions about his use of the phrase "monkey it up" in describing what he believes voters would do if they elect Gillum, a black man. This weekend, the Washington Post reported that DeSantis had on four previous occasions attended conferences hosted by David Horowitz, labeled an "extremist" for his views on blacks and Muslims by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

DeSantis, who's never served in state government, won the Republican primary in no small measure because of the endorsement of President Trump and dozens of appearances on Fox News talking about the Russia investigation and other national and international issues.

But that approach won't likely help him win many new voters with independents and Democrats in the general election, said Susan MacManus, a retired professor of political science at the University of South Florida.

"He's got to play catch-up in terms of his knowledge of Florida issues, and he's seen from Gillum the importance of grassroots politicking," MacManus said. "It's not possible to do that from D.C."

MacManus said DeSantis must now begin appealing to the 28 percent of voters who are not affiliated with either major party.

"With the polls showing a dead-heat race, the bottom line is you've gotta get home. You've gotta campaign," MacManus said. "Fox News only gets you so far."

His time in Congress

DeSantis, first elected in 2012, was elected in the wake of the Tea Party Movement, and joined right-wing causes such as voting against Obamacare and attempting to connect Hillary Clinton to failings in the Benghazi, Libya, attacks that killed four Americans.

He was among the founding members of the House Freedom Caucus, a group of conservatives who regularly voted against budget bills where spending exceeded revenue and pushed for the ouster of House Speaker John Boehner.

DeSantis did not return calls seeking comment about his resignation and time in Congress. He drew praise from Republican leaders as a reliable conservative voice who defended President Trump.

"He was elected to be right of center and he was that and probably a little bit more," said Bruce Thornton, president of the Republican Club of Daytona Beach. "He was a supporter of the Trump issues, and we couldn't ask for anything more."

"Ron DeSantis has continually taken a stand for the hardworking people of Florida on important issues, from healthcare to tax cuts, and I have no doubt he'll serve Florida well as our next governor," Waltz said.

But Jewel Dickson, chair of the Volusia Democratic Party, said DeSantis won't be missed because he rarely engaged with his constituents.

"DeSantis has spent his time in D.C. voting to take away our Medicare, cut our Social Security, and raise our health care costs. He never listened to the people of this district — because he didn't care about us," Dickson said. "He avoided town halls, refused constituent meetings, and then voted against our interests in Washington."

Why he quit

In his resignation letter, DeSantis said he rejected his congressional pension, turned down the health-care subsidy for members of Congress and fought against a congressional pay raise, all as part of his principle that: "Members of Congress should not be treated any differently than those they govern."

He asked that his resignation be retroactive to Sept. 1, "so that I do not receive any pay for the month of September."

Chuck Collins, president of the Republican Club of Ormond Beach and a self-described DeSantis supporter, said he wasn't shocked by the resignation.

"He's got a lot of work ahead of him in November," Collins said. "You can't really be in two places at one time and do a good job in both places."

Collins said he considers DeSantis an ethical person who "wants to do all the right things."

DeSantis was also perhaps wary of storylines emerging about missing votes. GovTrack.us, an independent website focused on making information about government more readily available and useful, reported that in July, DeSantis missed 44 percent of Congressional roll call votes.

While Republicans supported his decision, Democrats attacked the decision as being more driven by DeSantis' interest in furthering his own political career and changing the subject from the news about his speaking engagements at conferences organized by Horowitz.

"Today, Ron DeSantis quit on the people of Florida, in an attempt to distract from a firestorm of controversy over his attendance at extremist conferences," said Kevin Donohoe, a spokesman for the Florida Democratic Party. "Ron DeSantis can abandon his post, but he can't avoid questions about why he chose to associate himself with hateful, fringe organizations."

What lies ahead

The general election to replace DeSantis in District 6, which includes all of Volusia and Flagler counties, is Nov. 6, with Waltz — the Republican winner — and Democrat Nancy Soderberg on the ballot.

Federal law requires members of Congress to be replaced only by election.

"This congressional contest will be decided during the upcoming November general election," John Tupps, Gov. Rick Scott's communications director, said. He did not specify whether the winner of the Waltz-Soderberg contest will be allowed to be sworn into office just days after the election or if they will have to wait until January.

But there's not enough time before the Nov. 6 election to open up the seat for a special election.

Typically, second-year congressional vacancies do not result in elections earlier than the November general election, although in three cases in 2016, the races were called "special elections," allowing the winner to take the oath of office after the elections are certified about a week later.

That happened in the Kentucky 1st, Hawaii 1st and Pennsylvania 2nd districts in 2016.

The last time a Florida congressional member resigned in the second year of his term was in 2014. Trey Radel resigned from the 19th District seat on Jan. 27, and a special election was held five months later, on June 24, 2014, with Curt Clawson replacing Radel by June 25.

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